Hosiery knitting with improved make up and transfer



K. R. BOYER Jan. 28, 1969 HOSIERY KNITTING WITH IMPROVED MAKE UP AND TRANSFER Filed June 20. 1966 Sheet INVENTOR. Kerwin R. Boyer WITNESS Mm ATTORNEY r Jan. 28, 1969 i K. R. BOYER I 3,423,961 HOSIERY KNITTING WITH IMPROVED MAKE UP AND TRANSFER 7 Filed June 20, 1966 Sheet 2 of2 INVENTOR. Kerwin R. Boyer BY ATTORNEY A H E558 BEE m J mmzwzj +580 mwmzj 32:8 32:8 2mm 23 2mm x 2% zmmfi x m5 mmm 9: m8 m3 m8 l So 5583 8 28 5 z z 8.8 362:8

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WITNESS v Mww wt 9 United States Patent 3,423,961 HOSIERY KNITTING WITH IMPROVED MAKE UP AND TRANSFER Kerwin R. Boyer, High Point, N.C., assignor to The Singer Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New Jersey Filed June 20, 1966, Ser. No. 558,980 U.S. Cl. 66--41 2 Claims Int. Cl. D04!) 9/54 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates in general to a hosiery knitting machine and in, particular to improvements thereto, whereby the make up and transfer characteristics of the hosiery knitting machine are modified to produce stockings of improved quality, and which modifications are designed also to prevent malfunctioning within the machine as a result of inadvertent snagging of the feed-in stocking yarns by the dial assembly of the machine.

Present practice in the making of stockings is to begin make up and transfer at generally the same peripheral location on a stocking. This practice has been brought about by what Was considered a necessary physical arrangement of the needles and dial bits within respectively the needle cylinder and the dial assembly of the machine, i.e. long butt needles (LBN) to cooperate with long butt bits (LBB) and short blutt needles (SBN) to cooperate with short butt bits (SBB). Such an arrangement was thought essential for the reason that cams must cooperate first with long butt needles and long butt bits before they can begins to cooperate with short butt needles and short butt bits, and because during the transfer loop course (usually the third course) both the bits and the needles must be actuated simultaneously.

The invention as hereindescribed makes a complete reversal with respect to the art and provides for the cooperation of long butt needles with short butt bits, and short butt needles with long butt bits. To assure the needed simultaneous actuation of the needles and bits, the invention suggests, say during the second stocking course, the effective disabling of the long butt bits until after the short butt bits are actuated together with the long butt needles during the third course, this being by driving the long butt bits out over the cylinder needle circle (using a push-out cam) and all the Way back into the dial assembly (using a pull-back cam) at a point prior to the feed station at which the transfer loop course is begun. By operating the push-out cam then to drive out the short butt bits, and by disabling the pull-back cam the transfer loop course is effected by means first of long butt needles with short butt bits, and then by short butt needles with long butt bits. Contrarily, during transfer the long butt bits are actuated prior to actuation of the short butt bits, thereby effectively positioning the make up and transfer points differently.

With respect to stockings made by the aforementioned technique, the fact that the same peripheral point on a stocking is not used both for make up and transfer means, not only that flagrant partial repeats of the transfer loop course and the actual transfer course are not neededin order to disable the push-out and pull-back cams from cooperation with the short butt bits while such cams are moved past the butts of the long butt bits-but also that the course differential between the beginning and end of transfer appears at an inconspicous point on the stocking, thereby adding aesthetically to the appearance of the stocking.

During transfer, as is known, the dial bits are urged to move to an extreme out position and then to an extreme in position Within the dial assembly. By using the prior art technique of initiating transfer at the make up point, the free ends of feed-in yarns are capable of being caught by the retreating dial bits and carried to within the dial assembly, whereby not only will the stocking be ruined, but also the machine will have to be disabled at least in part to free the snagged yarn. By means of the present invention, the possibility of catching the free yarn ends by the dial bits is obviated, this being because the bits move out and in during transfer at a peripherally removed point with respect to the yarn ends.

In the description which follows, the invention is cast in a hosiery knitting machine of the single feed type wherein each revolution of the needle cylinder produces a new and separate stocking course. This was done solely for ease of description, it being understood that the invention is just as applicable with multifeed machines, and to relate the invention to such multifeed machines it is suggested that the successive revolutions be considered the analogs of the successive feeds, with appropriate repeats. So too, while it is described that the long butt bits are disabled just prior to the transfer loop course, it is apparent that the invention may be practiced just as easily by disabling instead the long butt needles just prior to the transfer loop course, for example by shifting the long butt needles to a hold down track of sorts. Also, while equal numbers of short and long butt bits are shown, it is obvious that is not a specific requirement of the invention, and that the radios and arrangements of the different kinds of'bits and needles are matters of machine design.

A principal object of the invention is to provide improved hosiery knitting machine apparatus.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved hosiery machine for making stockings having dissimilarly located make up and transfer points.

Another object of the invention is to provide a stocking having a double welt wherein the make up point thereof is different from the transfer point thereof.

The invention will be described with reference to the figures, wherein:

FIGS. 1A and 1B are perspective views, partially cutaway, of a well known form of dial assembly depicting respectively the underside of the dial cap and the topside of the dial thereof,

FIG. 2 is an elevational view, partially cutaway, of the dial assembly of FIGS. 1A and 1B,

FIG. 3 is a schematic showing of a hosiery knitting machine embodying the invention,

FIG. 4 shows a stocking according to the invention,

FIGS. 5A and 5B are diagrams indicating the first few courses after makeup wherein the circled Xs indicate the drawing of the transfer loops, which figures will be useful in describing how the stocking of FIGS. 4 is made, and

FIGS. 6 and 7 are diagrams useful in explaining the order of operation etc. of the parts of the machine shown in FIG. 3.

Referring to FIGS. 1A, 1B and 2, a presently preferred form of dial assembly 10 useful for practicing the invention has a dial cap 12 and a dial 14. The dial assembly 10 is 'well known in the art, and is shown here in detail principally because understanding of the operation of the parts thereof is essential to an understanding of the herein described invention. The dial 14 is provided with a plurality of radially disposed slots 16 for slidably accommodating transfer bits 18. The transfer bits are conventionally two-piece and shaped to form respective eyes 20, being arranged for example in two distinct groupings, viz, a first group having bits (SBB) with short butts 22, and a second group having bits (LBB) with long butts 24. The dial cap 12 overlays the dial 14, and is provided with a channel 26 designed to accommodate the butts of the transfer bits 18. A make up, or push-out, cam 28 is adapted to be engaged with the butts of the bits 18, and is secured to and operated by means of a plunger 30, which plunger is biased out of contact with the butts of the bits 18 by means of a spring 32. Similarly, a transfer, or pull-back, cam 34 is adapted to be engageable with the butts of the bits 18 and is secured to and operated by means of a plunger 36, which plunger 36 is also spring-biased so that the cam 34 is out of contact with the butts of the bits 18. As is known, the pushout make up cam 28, when actuated, alters the direction of the channel 26, whereas the pull-back transfer cam 34 by having its tip 38 proximate the rim of the channel 26 serves to bring extended bits back into the channel 26. A partial pull-back cam surface 40 is formed in the wall of the channel 26, serving to pull back each extended bit 18 to be sufficiently out of yarn receiving position. Secured to the dial cap 12 is a journal 42 through which a drive shaft 44 extends, and such shaft 44 is coupled to the dial 14 through a key 46 and recess 48 combination for driving the dial 14 with respect to the cap 12. Rotation of the dial 14 coupled with actuation of the push-out make up cam 28 causes first the long butt bits (LBB) to go to yarn receiving position, eventually to be partially withdrawn by the cam 40, and secondly the short butt bits (SBB) to go to yarn receiving position, eventually to be withdrawn also by the cam 40; rotation of the dial 14 coupled with actuation of the pull-back transfer cam 34 causes first the long butt bits which are extended (even partially) to be fully withdrawn, after which time the extended short butt bits are fully withdrawn.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the dial assembly of FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 2 is shown schematically in conventional overlaying relation with respect to a needle cylinder 50 of the hosiery knitting machine. The needle cylinder 50 is provided with double the amount of needles 52 as there are bits 18 in the dial 14, and such needles are slidably accommodated in peripheral slots in the needle cylinder 50 and are arranged so that odd numbered needles are adapted to pass between pairs of bits, whereas even numbered needles are arranged to pass between the eyes 20 of respective bits. The needle cylinder 50 has a gear '54 secured to it, being drivable by a drive device 56 through a pinion 58. The drive device 56 also couples to drive the shaft 44 clockwise (looking down from the top of the machine) so that the dial 14 and needle cylinder 50 rotate synchronously. To be noted in FIG. 3 is that the needles 52 are arranged for example in two groups, one having needles with long butts 60 (LBN) and one having needles with short butts 62 (SBN), and that the short butt bits overlay the long butt needles, and the long butt bits overlay the short butt needles. This is contrary to the present practice in the art, and serves to provide the inventional concept herein described. Beneath the respective needles 52 are jacks 64 alternate ones of which are provided with butts 66 actuable by means of a stationary cam 68 (held stationary by means not shown) to elevate alternate needles to yarn taking position to effect stitch formation at a location A. On the alternate jacks 'between the jacks having the butts 66, there are half circles of butts 70 and 72, the butts 70 being short butts and the butts 72 being long butts. Slide earns 74 and 76 are actuable selectively with respect to the needles 52 and the jacks 64 by means of a conventional control drum 78 that serves also to operate selectively the push-out make up and pull-back transfer cams 28 and 34.

For an understanding of how a stocking as shown in FIG. 4 with a double welt having differently located make up (MU) and transfer (T) points is made, reference should now be had to FIGS. 5A and 5B, and the diagrams of FIGS. 6 and 7, bearing in mind that while a single yarn feed configuration is here shown, the invention is just as practicable with multifeed machines. During knitting of the first course of the stocking, the odd numbered needles 52 knit by actuation of the jacks 64 in response to the cam 68 acting on the butts 66 of the jacks. To be noted is that when the loop formed to start the Wale Y (FIG. 5A) passes the stitch formation point A, the first loop formed to start the Wale X (and the lead-in loose yarn end B) is oppositely located with respect to the stitch formation point A. Since the needle cylinder 50 rotates clockwise, i.e., the stocking rotates in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 5A (and 5B), the long butt needles 60 pass the stitch formation point A before the short butt needles 62, whereas the short butt bits 18 pass the point A before the long butt bits. During the second half of the first course, i.e., while the short butt needles 62 are aligned with the cam 74, the cam 74 is actuated by means of the control drum 78, whereby during generation of the second course every cylinder needle is actuated t-o yarn taking position by operation of the cam 74 on the butts 60 and 62 of the needles. During the first half of the second course, both plungers 30 and 36 are so actuated by the main drum 78 that (1) the cam 28 may engage both the long butt bits and the short butt bits (which is the case as soon as a first initial grouping of long butt bits so permits), and (2) the cam 34 may engage the long butt bits 18 but not the short butt bits. Therefore, during the second course, the long butt bits are driven out of the dial 14, and right back in, whereby they are effectively disabled prior to start of the third course.

For start of the third course, the cam 74 is dropped out of action by means of the main drum 78, whereby again only the odd needles 52 are actuated to yarn taking position by action of the cam 68 on the jacks 64. Also, because the push-out make up cam 28 is positioned for action against the short butt bits (Whereas the pullback transfer cam 34 had not been positioned for action against the short butt bits) the short butt bits cooperate with the odd long butt needles to draw transfer loops as indicated by the circled Xs on FIGS. 5A, 5B. While the short butt bits are being actuated during the first half of the third course, the cam 34 is fully withdrawn by actuation of the main drum 78, this being so that the long butt bits are not fully withdrawn prior to their passing the stitch formation point A. Further, since all bits are pushed out by means of the cam 28 during the third course, but not withdrawn by means of the cam 34, the partial pull-back cam 40 operates to position all of the bits partially without the dial 14. The fourth course is knit with odd needles 52 being actuated by the cam 68 acting on the jacks 66.

With the make up courses held by the transfer bits 18, the double welt of the stocking is knit. During knitting of the course 1 prior to the course K in which transfer T is started, and while the long butt needles are aligned with the cam 76 (i.e. when the jack short butts 70 are aligned with the cam 76), the main control drum 78 actuates the cam 76 so that during all of the course K and half of the course L (in which transfer is completed) the even numbered needles 52 are elevated prior to their reaching the stitch formation point A. See FIG. 5B. (It is to be understood that the cam 68 continues to act to elevate the odd needles so that from course K on all needles knit.) Sometimes after start of course K, the cams 28, 34 are dropped in as far as the butts of the bits 18 will allow, whereby during the second half of the course K and the first half of the course L, all :bits

(starting this time with the long butt bits and not as during make up with the short butt bits) are pushed-out and thereafter, prior to point A, pulled full in. Since the even numbered needles 52, starting with the long butt needles, are elevated to cooperate with the extended bits, the transfer loops, as depicted in FIG. 5B, are taken by the needles in conventional manner, thereafter to be knit at the stitch formation point A.

Attempt has been made by means of FIGS. 5A and SE to indicate that the lead-in yarn end E is substantially removed from the area of actuation of the transfer bits during the clockwise rotary travel of a stocking knit according to the invention, whereby such end cannot be caught by the pulled-in transfer bits, and whereby proper functioning of the knitting machine, as earlier stated to be an object of the invention, is assured. Since as indicated above the make up and transfer characteristics of the stocking is effected at different points, the aestetic appearance of the stocking so knit is improved, i.e. the course differential is inconspicuously located and there are no partial repeats in the transfer loop and actual transfer courses,

While the invention has been described in its preferred form, it is to be understood that the words which have been used are words of description rather than of limitation and that changes within the purview of the appendded claims may :be made without departing from the true scope and spirit of the invention.

Having thus set forth the nature of the invention, what is claimed herein is:

1. Apparatus for use in effecting make up and transfer in a hosiery kitting machine having a needle cylinder with needles therein and a transfer dial with bits therein, said transfer dial being disposed above said needle cylinder and being adapted to be driven simultaneousl with said needle cylinder in the same direction, comprising means for use in actuating the needles successively after initially actuating a first needle to start said make up, means for use in actuating the bits successively after initially actuating a first bit to hold loops to start the transfer loop course, said first transfer bit and said first needle being substantially similarly arcuately disposed with respect to each other about respectively said transfer dial and said needle cylinder, and means for effecting during the course in which loops are transferred from bits to needles the actuation of needles and bits successively after initially actuating a predetermined particular needle and bit, which particular needle and bit are substantially similarly arcuately disposed with respect to each other, but which particular needle and bit are differently arcuately disposed with respect to said first needle and said first transfer bit about respectively said cylinder and dial, whereby a stocking is so formed having a double welt that the make up and transfer points of the stocking appear at different peripheral parts of the stocking.

2. A hosiery knitting machine having at least one yarn feed station, for use in providing a transfer loop course, a transfer bit dial and a needle cylinder, a dial cap for said dial means for relatively rotating said needle cylinder and said dial with respect to said feed station, said needle cylinder having a plurality of peripherally located slots,

long butt and short butt knitting needles slidably accommodated by said slots, said needles being so arranged in at least two groups, the first of said groups consisting of long butt needles and the second of said groups consisting of short butt needles, said transfer bit dial having a plurality of radially disposed slots and long butt and short butt transfer bits slidably accommodated by said dial slots, said long butt transfer bits and said short butt transfer bits being so arranged in at least two groups with the first of said groups consisting of short :butt bits and the second of said groups thereof consisting of long butt bits, said first group of bits and said first group of needles being arcuately disposed differently with respect to said feed station, first and second plunger cams supported by said dial cap for use in driving said bits, respectively radially outwardly of said dial at a first location that is before said yarn feed station in the relative travel of said dial and needle cylinder passed the feed station, and in driving said bits radially inwardly of said dial at a location after said first location but before said yarn feed station in the relative travel of said dial and needle cylinder passed the feed station, means for use in driving the bits which are radially outward of said dial partially inward at a location which is after said feed station in the relative travel of said dial and needle cylinder passed the feed station, said first and second plunger cams being individually depressable from an inoperative level to an intermediate level cooperable with only said long butt bits and to an extreme level coopera-ble with both said long and short butt bits, control means effective during the course in which loops are engaged by the bits for depressing both said first and second plunger cams from said inoperative level to said intermediate level prior to cooperation with said long butt bits, for depressing only said first plunger cam to said extreme level during cooperation with said long butt bits and prior to cooperation with said short butt bits, and withdrawing said second plunger cam to said inoperative level during passage of said short butt bits, and control means effective during the course in which loops are transferred from the bits to the needles for depressing both said plunger cams to said intermediate level prior to cooperation with said long butt bits and for depressing both said plunger cams to said extreme level prior to cooperation with said short butt bits.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,387,769 10/1945 Page et al. 66-95 2,873,594 2/1959 Larkin 66-95 2,913,891 11/1959 Guter 66173 3,052,109 9/1962 Hanel 66-95 3,069,882 12/1962 Tysinger 66173 FOREIGN PATENTS 929,625 6/1963 Great Britain.

WM. CARTER REYNOLDS, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 66l73 

